The Broken Pieces(2)

“If you take any action against me, all of Mordan will war against you,” Sebastian said. “No lord or lady will risk losing their throne because of the whims of a priest.”

“That has been happening since the dawn of time, Sebastian. But no, I will not take action against you. I only present you a choice, one you will either accept or refuse. The consequences will then be yours, however you decide.”

So this was it, then. At last he’d hear the true reason for the betrayal.

“Speak it, then,” Sebastian said, leaning back in his chair. “Waste no more of my time.”

“Your army is crushed,” Luther began.

“And whose fault is that, I wonder?”

“Please,” Luther said. “Do not waste my time, either.”

Sebastian waved for him to continue.

“Regardless the reason, you are defeated,” said the priest. “Your brother marches this way, the rebel Kaide at his side. Together they have gathered men, more than enough to surround your castle and starve you out. The North knows of your defeat, and the seeds of rebellion are sprouting. Your only hope, other than surrendering, is to accept our aid.”

“Aid?” Sebastian asked. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. “You crush my army, then offer me aid? What nonsense is this?”

“Not nonsense,” Luther said. “Just the plain truth.”

“You would blackmail me,” Sebastian said, realizing what was going on. “By the gods, you have the stones to do it, too.”

“One god,” Luther said. “And I will do all he desires, regardless of my…stones. As for you, you have no wife, and no heir, something your people have grumbled behind your back about for some time. Not that you’ve cared, selfish as you are. You have never worried about succession, or ensuring peace after your death. I will end that, now. With my aid, you’ll sign a will donating all of your lands, and the lands of your brother after his defeat, to the temple of Karak.”

Sebastian blinked, hardly able to believe his ears.

“All of it?” he asked.

Luther nodded.

Sebastian rubbed his eyes, then stood from his throne. For once, he felt a fire brewing in him, and he would cower no longer.

“You ask for land that has been in my family for generations!” he cried. “You ask that I crush my brother, and then in death hand over the entire North to your temple? And how long, pray tell, until I die in my sleep? A year? Two? You’re a patient one, Luther, but I have a feeling you’ll want this to happen in your lifetime. This is…this is…this is unacceptable. You have overstepped every bound imaginable. I will send word to Mordeina. When the King hears of how you attacked my army, how you blackmailed me…”

“The King will hear what we tell him!” Luther roared back, his voice shockingly powerful for his age. It was as if Karak’s fury thundered out of his throat. “If you do not agree, then we’ll reveal the fleecing of your people in our name. We will tell him you waged war with the claim of our approval, and even used the faith of our god to recruit and fund this brothers’ squabble. Do you know who King Baedan’s advisors are, Sebastian? They’re priests, and not of Ashhur. What do you think they’ll whisper in his ears? They’ll say we did what was just, for how could we ignore a lord insulting and profaning Karak in such a way?”

Sebastian didn’t want to believe it, couldn’t believe it, but he knew it was true. Common knowledge throughout Mordan was of how the priests of Karak guided the King’s every move. Just yet another reason why Sebastian had tried to side so publicly with the Lion.

“Why?” he asked, slumping in his throne. “Why have you turned against me so? Why such hatred?”

Luther pulled his robe tighter about his shoulders and turned to the door.

“I do it because there is no faith in your heart,” he said. “Just a shallow lie that has damaged our cause greatly. Dress yourself head to toe with the mark of the Lion, but you still hide nothing, not from me. Think on my offer. If you refuse, you’ll have to fend off Arthur on your own. But we both know how that will go, don’t we?”

Sebastian’s hands shook as he clutched the sides of his chair. His mind whirled, trying to make sense of it all, to think of some way to save himself from his predicament.

“Give me a week to decide,” he said at last.

“No,” Luther said, walking away. “You have three days. Use them well, Sebastian.”

The guards opened the doors so he might leave, and the noise of them shutting thundered throughout the suddenly quiet hall.